Jasper HESLINGA, Eurpean Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), NHL Stenden University, Netherlands
The unprecedented situation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 strengthened global calls for the re-evaluation of travel and tourism and its contribution to a more sustainable and resilient future (Cave and Dredge, 2020). There is uncertainty whether COVID-19 is a true game changer for the tourism sector, or is the effect limited? (CELTH, 2020). The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of the ‘value-action gap’ in the context of travel and tourism, thereby strengthening the efforts of NTOs, DMOs and tourism businesses in the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient future (Heslinga et al., 2020). The report presents the findings of a large-scale study across five European countries - Germany, the UK, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The survey focused on the pre-pandemic and forthcoming travel plans of Europeans, the potential impact of the pandemic on their projected behaviour, the behavioural constraints that would keep them from adapting sustainable travel practices as well as statements related to the underlying value system, beliefs and norms that are likely to guide travellers’ actions.
We found that pre-pandemic, current and projected travel behaviour of the respondents do align, indicating little to no impact of the pandemic on the likelihood of adopting more sustainable travel behaviour in the future. The analysis of pre-pandemic, current and projected travel behaviour, value orientation, belief and norm patterns revealed four distinct clustersm namely: Frontrunners, Comfortable Crowd, Entitled Stewards, Laggards. For each clusters differences can be observed in the phases of the customer journey where travellers are more likely to consider alternative, more sustainable, options. We conclude that the outcomes of this research are helpful input for making more tailor-made and effective policies and strategies supporting sustainable tourism and travel.
Mots clés : COVID-19 pandemic|regenerative tourism|sustainable tourism|travel behaviour|tourism policy making
A105177JH